Service providers who engage in the sale of digital goods lose considerable revenue every month due to non-sufficient funds (NSF) on the part of the consumer. Typically, when a purchase is initiated by a consumer, a request is sent to the billing system of record to check the available balance in the consumer's account against the price of the transaction. If the available balance is less than the transaction amount, the transaction fails with an error of NSF and the potential revenue is lost. This not only causes lost revenue, it is also a sunken cost for the network operator, as each API call represents a small cost to operate.
An NSF error also adds to a consumer's indirect negative impression with the network operator, which can reduce brand loyalty and increase the risk of churn. There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.